Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS

This website gives an insight into the early days of mp3 development, its marketing and rapid development until today. It explains how mp3 transformed from a pioneering technology to a worldwide audio standard, and details the positive effects it had on Germany’s economy. The information within these pages focuses on Fraunhofer IIS’ contributions to mp3 – other institutes did their own research on adapted aural audio coding, and mp3 also includes some contributions by developers who were not part of the mp3 team at Fraunhofer IIS.

Hear the pioneering engineers behind the mp3 codec when they share their memories and unknown stories about the development of the revolutionary technology. The video is a recording from a panel discussion followed by a live Q&A session held at the Fraunhofer IIS in December 2024. The event was organized by the Audio Engineering Society’s student section Erlangen-Nuremberg.